72 Years Ago Today

[illinoisredsox]

a bunch of very scared, seasick and incredibly brave men from America, Canada, England and other Allied countries went ashore off the Normandy coast to assault Hitler's Fortress Europe ... we owe them much.

We forget too, that these guys weren't John Wayne; many were kids, although they left their youth behind for forever.

I think it should be a prerequisite to graduate high school, get a drivers license, become a citizen or for anyone whining to watch the first 15-20 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan". Can you just imagine the doors dropping on those Higgins boats knowing what you were about to face? Those guys were the greatest generation for a reason.

Most never talked about it. My Dad graduated high school a few days after D-Day and immediately joined the Navy (his older brother was among those who landed in Normandy that day and survived). My brother, sister and I never heard stories about the war until the final couple weeks of his life. He just wouldn't talk about it. Neither would my uncle.

Several years ago, one of my sons had a school assignment to interview a grandparent. One of the questions was the old standard, what did you dream of doing after high school. My Dad's reply shocked us. He said he had no dreams. He went on to explain that he knew he would be going to war, that he did not expect to come back and that most of the boys in his high school had the same expectation. Can you imagine going through your teenage years with that in the back of your mind?

There are very few of them left now; the youngest are now 90 years old. We must remember them.

[SoxnCycles]

Excellent post.

[Slasher9]

Good stuff IL. 06-June is always a day in my household for reflection.

[a700hitter]

a bunch of very scared, seasick and incredibly brave men from America, Canada, England and other Allied countries went ashore off the Normandy coast to assault Hitler's Fortress Europe ... we owe them much.

We forget too, that these guys weren't John Wayne; many were kids, although they left their youth behind for forever.

I think it should be a prerequisite to graduate high school, get a drivers license, become a citizen or for anyone whining to watch the first 15-20 minutes of "Saving Private Ryan". Can you just imagine the doors dropping on those Higgins boats knowing what you were about to face? Those guys were the greatest generation for a reason.

Most never talked about it. My Dad graduated high school a few days after D-Day and immediately joined the Navy (his older brother was among those who landed in Normandy that day and survived). My brother, sister and I never heard stories about the war until the final couple weeks of his life. He just wouldn't talk about it. Neither would my uncle.

Several years ago, one of my sons had a school assignment to interview a grandparent. One of the questions was the old standard, what did you dream of doing after high school. My Dad's reply shocked us. He said he had no dreams. He went on to explain that he knew he would be going to war, that he did not expect to come back and that most of the boys in his high school had the same expectation. Can you imagine going through your teenage years with that in the back of your mind?

There are very few of them left now; the youngest are now 90 years old. We must remember them.

It is unbelievable what they lived through and accomplished. Also, most of them had grown up through the hardship of the Great Depression before going off to war by the millions.

[Thunder]

Those men were part of the greatest generation of Americans in history. They're the reason my generation is not speaking German and saluting some successor of Hitler.